I know there are some pretty dapper mother lovers in here, and with that regard I humbly ask for your opinions on which dress shoes to purchase? I am in need of black oxfords, some chukkas, and some loafers. The problem is, I wear a size 15 so most places do not carry my size, the place I can get dress shoes (K&G) have shoes that fall apart after a year of wear. I have been looking at Allen Edmonds, Gucci, and Cole Haan as they carry my size, but am not sure of any others or if their quality is great. I'd hate to drop $300+ on a pair of dress shoes for them only to fall apart after daily use. What y'all got for me?
Low end of price range. http://www.stacyadams.com/shop/styleGridSearch.html?&subCategoryCode=dress&pageNumber=0&size=15 I actually don't own a pair of them, not sure on quality.
I have owned only 1 pair of Stacy Adams. They were good looking and comfortable but long term durability was worse than I expected. They lasted about 6 months of on and off light wear before the soles came apart. I would spend the extra money and get a better brand. You can't beat the price though.
http://www.amazon.com/Clarks-Origin...&qid=1432917512&sr=8-3&keywords=clark+chukkas best shoe of all timeee
Allen Edmonda will not steer you wrong. Their main line of dress shoes are goodyear welted with leather soles and calf-skin uppers (good quality leather). So long as you take care of the leather by cleaning/polishing every few wears, they will last you a very very long time.
I purchased my first pair of nice dress shoes a few months ago. Allen Edmonds seconds-quality, meaning there's some factory defect that didn't pass their standards. Got the burgundy cap-toe oxfords (Park Avenues). First second had a dark-brown burnish, about 1" x 2" on the cap-toe. I thought it was too obvious so I returned it and ordered another one where the cap-toe stitching on one foot is a little off-axis. The cap-toe lines should intersect when you place them side by side, but in this pair, it was closer to parallel. Only a big deal if you know and see the shoe side by side, otherwise unnoticable. They've been great shoes for me so far. I've gotten many compliments on them. A cap-toe oxford is pretty timeless and burgundy offers a nice color compared to standard black, although that will be my next pair. They're about to have a sale on them soon where you can get them around or sub $200. Shoebank.com. Check slickdeals.com because I saw a thread detailing more info on their tent sale. To order, call the individual outlet stores, ask them to pull the shoe and inspect it to describe the defects over the phone before you order. If you don't like it, return it to an Allen Edmonds store and they'll ship it back for you.
lol at putting Cole Haan in the same sentence as Allen Edmonds. Look at AE, Meermin and Carmina. You could also look at a company like Jack Erwin. You want a classic shoe that uses goodyear welting so that you can resole them once you have put some serious wear into them.
You easily can when you compare price. I'd much rather own 2-3 pair of Cole Haan or Kenneth Cole than 1 pair of Allen Edmonds. The same thing goes with athletic shoes. Sure, a $200 pair of shoes is nice but I'd rather have 2-3 pairs for the same price that cover all of my activities (running, cycling, basketball, etc.). To each their own.
I always buy Johnston & Murphys. Quality shoes, last 2 or 3 years if worn on daily workday basis, and costs between $100 - 120. Can't complain
When you compare the leather, quality, construction, and how long a cemented shoe like CH or KC will last as compared to AE, no you cannot.
Go read around on malefashionadvice on reddit. Plenty of resources and guides there. I would just stick with AE. You can find some models on sale at Nordstrom right now. I don't have much experience with Jack Erwin (www.jackerwin.com) but I have heard positive things and that price point is very good for what you get.
